


Of those left behind, but friendships remembered

by Kiri_Kaitou_Clover



Series: Coda: What is unseen [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime 2019), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Ash being cheeky, Ash buried in fluff, Ash unconsciously showing off to Gou, Fluff, Gen, Gou is frustrated, Nostalgia, SS006 - Catch a Lot of Pokémon! The Path to Mew!!, based on that single moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23169283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover/pseuds/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover
Summary: Before leaving the forests, Gou decides to try his luck at the Pidgey line once again. Only for him to encounter something vastly larger.(Just why was Ash so amused?)
Relationships: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Gou (Pokemon)
Series: Coda: What is unseen [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665454
Comments: 12
Kudos: 404





	Of those left behind, but friendships remembered

**Author's Note:**

> It seems like I'm actually doing it.  
> It has become a series.  
> The anime has a bunch of nostalgia moments that make me very very happy but also very very frustrated bc I end up with so many plot Bunneary, Bunnelby and Scorbunny.

"Get back here!" Gou yelled as he chased after the tiny bird that had evaded capture once again. It wasn't that late in the afternoon yet, but with how long he'd been chasing Pidgey and Pidgeotto, it certainly felt like hours had passed since he caught Scyther.

To be fair, he had wanted to head back immediately, but he'd caught sight of a Pidgey landing nearby and had decided to try his luck once more.

Unfortunately the Pokemon were easily startled into flight, and Gou had ended up chasing them deeper into the forests.

"Sorry Ash! I didn't think this was going to take so long!" Gou apologised as he flopped to the ground exhausted.

Ash on the other hand didn't even seem winded as he chuckled and watched Pikachu fan Scorbunny,"It's fine Gou. I'm just glad that you're enjoying yourself. Besides, we're pretty deep in this forest. I'm quite sure we'll run into more of the Pidgey line soon."

That last statement was capped off with a look of amusement. Gou could only scowl at that, pushing himself up at the percieved challenge. He'd been about to head off in another direction when it happened.

A large shadow cast itself on the forest floor.

The loud beats of wings and a sudden burst of wind rustling the grass and leaves.

The chirps of Pidgey and Pidgeotto surrounded them.

Gou winced, grabbing Scorbunny and holding his partner close as he looked up at what had just appeared... and he could only gape in shock.

In front of him, a Pidgeot had descended, landing in the middle of the clearing he and Ash had been resting in as the chirps of its previous forms got louder, as if an entire flock had gathered.

And Gou wasn't even sure if this was a great chance or a terrible idea when he unconsciously broke out into a grin, yelling at the flying type, "So you're the leader of the flock!"

The Pidgeot turned its gaze directly at him, narrowing its eyes as if it had heard a challenge. Not willing to back down, Gou set Scorbunny down, the fire rabbit raring to go. But Gou steadied it, "You rest, Scorbunny. You battled Scyther earlier and this one's clearly way stronger. Let me try my way."

Seeing the pout from his partner, Gou laughed, "I'll let you help with the next capture alright? Ash, mind looking after Scorbunny for me?"

Ash, still looking suspiciously amused by the current situation, agreed to the suggestion as he commented, "I told you we'd find more of the Pidgey line."

"This is way more than that! It's a Pidgeot! In the wild!" Gou grinned as he took out several Pokeballs, knowing full well this could take some time. The Pidgeot cried out, wings spread out and accepting the challenge.

* * *

Gou was panting. The Pidgeot was definitely powerful, having easily bat away most of the Pokeballs Gou had thrown at it, and several never even getting close thanks to the winds created blowing them all off course.

As it began to land once again, Gou knew he had an opening, and immediately tossed his last Pokeball before it could react... only for the Pokeball to bounce off Pidgeot, despite having hit it square in its chest.

"Eh?" Gou blinked, looking down at the Pokeball that had rolled to a stop at his feet... then began panicking, frantically backing off from the large bird. "Why didn't it work?! It hit right? The Pokeball hit right?" 

Pidgeot hadn't even reacted to the provocation. Instead, it looked on, as if amused by his last attempt at capturing it.

"The attempted capture of another trainer's Pokemon is prohibited," Rotom Phone chimed in suddenly.

Gou looked at the phone incredulously, and then at the still amused looking Pidgeot, muttering, "You have to be kidding me, you're another trainer's Pokemon?"

Gou blinked when it turned its gaze towards where Ash was waiting, and stared in confusion at the situation in front of him. Pikachu and Scorbunny were playing around with the Pidgey while a small number of Pidgey and Pidgeotto had settled on Ash as their perch, Ash looking rather comfortable under all that feather sitting on him.

Ash looked up, having noticed the chaos settling down, and smiled as he called out, "Gou! Are you finished?"

"Ash what the heck? Why are you under all that?" Gou asked, still very stunned by the situation. Then choked in shock when Pidgeot made its way in front of Ash and began nuzzling him, making soft trills and coos as it did, "Ash?!"

"That tickles, Pidgeot! Stop that! I'm glad you had fun, really!" 

Gou didn't know how to react. Did they know each other? If so why did Ash let him struggle like that for so long?!

"I need to introduce you two!" Ash giggled breathlessly as he finally stopped playing with the large bird and addressed Gou, the amused smile still on his face. "Gou, this is Pidgeot. She used to be a part of my team! Currently she's the flock leader of all these Pidgey and Pidgeotto. And we actually met up earlier while you were still chasing Scyther!"

"So she's your Pokemon?!" Gou yelped. Seeing Ash nod and grin, Gou pouted, "Why did you even let me try? I made a complete fool of myself!"

"Well..." a sly smile graced his face, "Better to find this out now than later. At some point I know you are going to attempt to capture really powerful Pokemon that will definitely fight back hard if you try to capture it without battling. What more, even if you encounter a Pokemon while exploring, you'll never know when it's already a caught Pokemon."

"What are the chances of that happening though?" Gou muttered. "Like, why release a Pokemon but not break it's Pokeball or formally let it go?"

"I've done it a few times, but mostly because my Pokemon needed it," Ash shrugged as he gently stroked Pidgeot's beak. "Sometimes it's because my Pokemon wants to make a family of its own, sometimes its because a flock needs a leader and protector, sometimes its because they already have family and the capture was really a temporary thing, and sometimes its because they have their own dream to follow. The Pokeball helps protect them while they are in the wild, prevent them from being forcefully taken away from the things they wish to do."

"... Huh, I never thought about that," Gou said as he looked at the Pidgey and Pidgeotto surrounding them. "Makes you wonder what dreams they all have."

"Anyways," Ash gave Gou a grin as he gestured to Pidgeot, "Do you want to fly back to Vermilion on Pidgeot?"

"Are you sure?!" Gou jumped up, eyes sparkling, causing Ash to laugh in reply and Pidgeot trilled eagerly, "Of course we're sure! Plus, I know you can't pass up the opportunity, can you?"

Gou pouted at that. How was it that Ash could already predict what was on his mind and yet Gou still found Ash completely unpredictable in these sorts of situations? 

Either way, Gou smiled as Pidgeot lowered herself so that he could climb onto her back, Ash helping him out before joining him.

It was an eventful day, the wind in their face as they flew back was different from that meeting with Lugia, but the encounter Ash had led him to was just as amazing.

(And Gou still had this feeling that Ash had so much more to show him of the world of Pokemon)

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely based on the premise that while Ash released Pidgeot, it may not have been an official one as he was never shown to destroy Pidgeot's Pokeball, or release out of it's Pokeball in some way, in the episode he let Pidgeot leave. This fic assumes that as long as it isn't a formal release, the Pokemon remains registered to it's Pokeball and cannot be captured.
> 
> Either way, I _love _this episode a lot. You get so many silly moments and bits of nostalgia here and there like Pidgeot and the Scyther chase (like that's a call back to Johto's Bug Catching contest) and when you think Gou is gonna catch Pokemon and then not spend time with them, NOPE HE LETS THEM OUT AND PLAYS WITH THEM LIKE GOODNESS ME THE FLUFF.__
> 
> __But the best part was the barest glimpse of Pidgeot. Which became this fic._ _


End file.
